Brassiere



March 1, 1949-. R, MIC'HAELSO 1 2,462,987

BRASSIERE Filed NOV. 14, 1945 BY QW @YQ/m om ATTORNEYS5 277 Patented Mar. 1, 1949 UITE. D S TAT ES ATENST OF FICE.

2,462,987 BR-AssIRE RoseMichaelson, New York, N. Y.

ApplicationNovember 14, 1945, Serial No. 628,387

4 Claims.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a brassire oi" simple construction and attractive appearance which, even though it be of relatively flimsy fabric at the breast cups, will yet distribute the stress transmitted through the shoulder straps without ruptureand without discomfort and lendsI itself readily to a variety of adjustments for varying the bust contour depending on the current fashion orl the preference of the wearer.

In the accompanying drawings in` which is shown one ofvarious possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. l. is a front elevation of the brassire as worn,

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are side elevations thereof', illustrating alternative forms of bust contour attained in wear,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan showing the shoulder strap adjustment,

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on i line ii--Ii of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional View on a larger scale showing the hook adjustment, and

Figs. 8 and 9 are transverse sectional views on a larger scale taken respectively on line 8-8 and line 8-9 of Fig. l.

Referring now to the drawings, the brassire is of the type involving a, bandeau IEI encompassing the body and closed at itsA back in conventional' manner (not shown). brassire has the breast cup conformations B and the shoulder straps I I extend from the back to be releasably fastened at their free ends to near the upper margins of the breast cups B.

In a preferred embodiment, the breast cups are provided with stress-distributing reinforce ribbons I2 extending downward from the shoulder straps and curved outwardly along the lower halves of the breast cups, as shown.

In a preferred specific construction, each breast cup is generally pentagonal in form with its base along the lower edge of the bandeau and an upstanding apex I3 along the mid-line of the breast cup. Each generally pentagonal breast cup is bordered by a segment of the binder I4 along the lower edge of the bandeau and is bordered by the correspondingly peaked segment of binder I5 along the upper edge of the garment. The remaining two sides of the pentagonal breast cup are lbordered by reinforce strips I6 stitched thereto.

Each breast cup is made of three panels of fabric, including two wing panels Il and I8, generally triangular but curved at their facing The front of the i edges, and an interposed third panel I9 which is a generally triangular dart, the base of which extends along the lower bound edge of the bandeaul and the sides of which are curved to conform to those of the wing panels I"I and i8. The dart panel I9preferably has a short tab extension 2D at its vertex, protruding above the peak I3 of the breast cup. Desirably` the lateral edges oi the dart panel are folded inward at 2| and the finished edges 22 thus formed are superposed over the edges of the wing panels I1 and I8. The stress distributing reinforce ribs l2 are desirably in the form of ribbons laterally folded inward at 23; and superposed preferably over the inner face of the garment to overlap and extend along the line of junction between the wing and thedart panels, and they are stitched in place as at 24. The tension distributing ribbons I2, following the lateral contour of the dart panel, diverge outwardly along the lower half of the breast cup, as shown, and are desirably anchored at their outer or lower ends 25 to the lateral rein force strips I 6 of the breast cups. The tension distributing ribbons I2 are desirably each of half the width of tab ZIl and they extend upward beyond the peak of the breast cup to be superposed'iover and stitched-as at 26 to the underfaces ofthe respective extension tabs 20 in side-by-side relation, the combined width of the two ribbons substantially covering said extension tab and materially enhancing its strength.

InY a preferred embodiment, the connection between the shoulder strap IIy and its anchoring tab 20 is by means of a hook 2l aixed to the upper end of the tab, releasably to be straddlecl at will over any of a plurality, desirably three of uniformly spaced fabric cross strips 23 overlapped by herns 29 on the shoulder straps Il, which are laterally stitched in place at 3b. The arrangement set forth permits anchoring cf the hook 2l at any one of the three or more spaced cross strips 28 and thereby admits conveniently of equalized selective adjustment in the contour of the bust line. That is illustratively shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, in which Fig. 2 shows the adjustment at the lowermost, Fig. 3 at the median1 and Fig, 4 at the uppermost of cross-strips 28. As a consequence the adjustment of Fig. 3 aords a normal bust line, that of Fig. 2, one that is somewhat pendant, and Fig. 4, one that is elevated.

In wear it will be seen that the tension transmitted from the shoulder strap I I is taken by the anchoring tab 20 with its superposed reinforce ribbons I2. The lower or outer ends of these ribbons I2 being anchored to lateral reinforce strips IG, the lengths of said ribbons l2 are tensed so that the laterally diverging lower halves of said lengths will afford effective support in the adjustment of Figs. 2 and 3, and both support and lift in the adjustment ofV Fig. 4. As a consequence, there is no excessive or rupturing strain upon the breast cups, even though these be of relatively flimsy fabric and no discomfort is suffered, since the strain is uniformly distributed by said ribbons over the breast.

It will thus be seen that the invention affords a garment of inherent styleY appeal which admits of variety in bust contour without detracting from the comfort of wear and without binding or discomfort in any of its adjustments, or excessive str-ain upon the fabric, however flimsy.

As many changes could -be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure .by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A brassire having breast cups, each cup comprising a pair of wing panels, a dart panel intervening therebetween connected thereto, and having a tab extension above the cup, a pair of ribbons stitched longitudinally across each cup along the connecting edge between each wing panel and the adjacent dart panel, the ribbons of each pair being substantially parallel near the upper part thereof each of the dart panels protruding above the cup, said pair of ribbons being superposed over said tab in side by side relation and being attached to said tab along the length of the latter, said tabs with their superposed ribbon ends serving for shoulder strap anchorage.

2. A brassire having breast cups, each generally pentagonal in contour with an upper marginal apex, each cup comprising generally triangular wing panels with curved edges facing each other, and a dart panel interposed between and connected to said wing panels, said dart panel having a tab unitary therewith and extending above the apex, and a pair of ribbons overlapping the sides of said dart panel and stitched thereto along the connecting edges between the dart panel and the wing panels, the

ends of said ribbons extending along and being superposed over said tab and stitched to the latter.

3. A brassire having 4breast cups each generally pentagonal in contour, with a horizontal base at the lower edge of the brassire and an upper marginal apex, Veach breast cup comprising two generally triangular wing panels with downwardly and outwardly curved inner edges and an intervening dart panel with corresponding curved edges, said dart panel having a narrow extension tab protruding upward from the apex thereof, and reinforcing ribbons, each of about lhalf the width of the tab, overlapping the latter and stitched along the adjoining edges of the dart panel and -therespective wing panels, the upper ends of said ribbons being superposed over and stitched to the tab in side-by-side relation, a shoulder strap fastening member afxed to the upper end of said tab, and shoulder straps each having a plurality of alternative fastening conformations spaced longitudinally along said strap and complementary to that on the tab.

4. A brassire comprising breast cups, each having a pair of reinforce ribbons affixed thereto and extending the height thereof, the lower parts of said ribbons flaring outward to extend in diverging relation along each of said cups and being stitched thereto, said cups each having a tab protruding upward therefrom, the upper ends of said ribbons being attached to said tab, a shou1- der strap fastening member affixed to the upper end of said tab, and shoulder straps each having a plurality of alternative fastening conformations spaced longitudinally along said strap and complementary to that on the tab.

ROSE MICHAELSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

